Staple remover



March 21, 1967 J. R. BERRY S TAPLE HEMOVER Filed May 21, 1965 R O T N EV N JOHNNIE R. BERRY United States Patent This invention relates toportable tools and more particularly relates to a staple remover.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved tool forremoving one member from another member.

It is a particularly important object of this invention to provide a newand improved staple remover.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a new and improvedtool for removing staples from objects in which they are secured, suchas wooden furniture framework, cardboard boxes, and the like.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a stapleremover which is sturdy, durable, and compact while being easily andinexpensively manufactured.

It is another object of the invention to provide a staple remover usableby an unskilled operator.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a staple removerwhich is manipulatable by one hand of an operator.

It is another object of the invention to provide a staple remover whichinitially partially pries a staple from a body in which it is securedand then firmly grasps the staple to minimize slippage between thestaple and the remover while the staple is firmly lifted free of suchbody.

It is another object of the invention to provide a staple removercomprising a handle, a shaft, and a fork portion adapted to partiallypry a staple from engaging relationship in an object and releasablyfirmly engage the staple while the staple is being lifted from theobject.

It is another object of the invention to provide a staple remover havinga fork portion including at least one knife point and at least onecrimping point positioned in spaced relation relative to the knife pointdefining a staple receiving notch or recess therebetween.

It is another object of the invention to provide a staple remover havinga head portion including a knife point and a crimping point whichpreferably is shorter than the knife point.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a stapleremover having a fork portion with the combination of a knife point anda crimping point formed along one lateral edge of the body of the forkportion which is of substantial width to provide a lever arm for liftingthe staple from a body into which it is secured.

It is an additional object of theinvention to provide a staple removerhaving -a forked head portion of substantial width including a knifepoint and crimping point combination formed along each lateral edge ofthe head portion.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be readilyapparent from the reading of the following description of a deviceconstructed in accordance with the invention, and reference to theaccompanying drawings thereof, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side view in elevation of a staple remover embodying theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a portion of the shaftof the staple remover of FIGURE 1, and its fork or head after initialengagement of a staple; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view in perspective similar to FIGURE 2 afterapproximately 90 degrees rotation of the staple remover illustrating thecrimping of the staple preliminary to its removal.

Referring to the drawings, a staple remover A embodying the inventioncomprises a handle 2, a shaft 4, and a "ice head or fork 6. The handlehas a gripping portion 2a which preferably is cylindrical in shape, isof a diameter to conveniently fit the hand of an operator, and has aplurality of longitudinally extending circumferentially spaced recesses2b to facilitate a firm grip of the handle by an operator. The handlehas a tapered end portion 2c into which the shaft 4 is fitted andsecured by any suitable manner. 'It will be apparent that the handle maybe formed of any suitable substantially rigid material, such as wood,plastic, metal, or hard rubber into which the shaft 4 is firmly secured.

The shaft has a generally square or rectangular cross section asapparent in FIGURES 2 and 3. The shaft and handle are interconnected andaligned relative to each other so that their longitudinal axes arecoincident to provide optimum balance and ease of operation.

The fork or head 6 is formed integral with the shaft 4 and hasend-wardly divergent lateral edge surfaces 6a adjoining at a location ofmaximum width 611 endwardly convergent lateral edge surfaces 60. Thefork is tapered toward its face end with respect to its thicknessproviding opposite side faces 6d which are of substantial width asmeasured along a line of maximum dimension 6e to provide a substantialmoment arm, as discussed in detail below, for ease of removal of staplesonce they are engaged by the fork of the staple remover.

The fork 6 includes along its free end portion endwardly extendinglaterally spaced knife points 8 the outward side edge surface of each ofwhich is defined by one of the edge surfaces 6c. The fork also includesalong its free end portion integrally formed endwardly extending,laterally spaced, crimping points 12. Each of the crimping points isinwardly laterally spaced from an adjacent knife point 8 to define anendwardly opening notch or recess 10. Each of the fork edge surfaces 6cextends at such an angle with the longitudinal axis of the fork andshaft that such edge surface is parallel with the surface of the bodyinto which a staple is secured while the handle is being held at asufficient height above the bodys surface that the hand of the operatoris free for manipulating the staple remover. Each of the knife points 8is defined by an outside edge surface 60 and an inside edge surface 811which converge toward the free end of the knife point forming thepointed free end of each of the knife points. Each notch or recess 10 isdefined by spaced endwardly divergent inside edge surfaces 8a of a knifepoint and the outside edge surface 12a of the adjacent crimping point.The central portion of the free end of the fork is provided with acircular recess portion 13 defined by a circular end edge surfaceportion 13a extending between the end points of the crimping points 12and thus defining the inside edge of each of the crimping points.

As discussed hereinafter, there is no basic operational relationshipbetween the two sets of combination knife and crimping points and thustheir lateral spaced relationship is determined by the breadth of thefaces 6d of the fork as measured primarily along the line of maximumdimension 6b. This maximum dimension is sufificient for a staple to belifted clear of the object from which it is pulled by rotation of thefork of the staple remover, as discussed below. It will be apparent thatthe spaced relationship of each pair of adjacent edge surfaces 8a and12a defining each of the notches 19 is determined by the thickness ofthe material, generally wire, of which such staple is formed. Thespacing between the adjacent edge surfaces 8a and 12a is, therefore,sufficient that each of the notches 10 fully receives the bight portionof the staple as apparent in both FIGURES 2 and 3.

The staple remover A is employed in a continuous integrated procedurefor the removal of generally U-shaped staples, such as the staple 14 ofFIGURES 2 and 3, from a firm embedded relationship in bodies such asfurniture, wood, boxes and the like. The initial step in the procedureof removing a staple with the staple remover is illustrated in FIGURE 2which shows the engagement of the staple remover with the staple and thelifting or partial removal of the staple from the object in which it issecured. The staple remover is grasped firmly by either hand of theoperator and positioned at an acute angle with the surface in which thestaple is embedded with the side faces 60 of the head 6 generallyperpendicular to the surface of the body, not shown, in which the stapleis embedded. The lateral edge surface 60 of the fork along the knifepoint 8 adjacent to the body is placed on the surface of the body asapparent in FIGURE 2 and the longitudinal axis of the staple remover isaligned perpendicular to the bight portion 14a of the staple. With thestaple remover oriented as described, it is moved by the hand of theoperator toward the central portion of the staple bight with the freeend point of the knife point being inserted underneath the bight of thestaple between it and the surface of the body is which the staple isembedded. The knife point is advanced beneath the staple with the staplebight being lifted upwardly due to the wedging action of the knife pointbecause of the angular relationship of its inside and outside edgesurfaces 84: and 6c. The staple remover is forced toward the stapleuntil, as shown in FIGURE 2, the bight portion of the staple is fullyreceived within the notch 10 between the knife point and crimping pointbeing employed. It will be apparent from FIGURE 2 that when the stapleis fully received within the notch a portion of the staple is liftedfrom the surface of the body in which it is embedded a distancesubstantially equivalent to the thickness of the base end of the knifepoint at the inward end of the notch 10 in which the staple is received.In the case of a very rigid staple the entire staple is generallylifted, as shown in FIGURE 2, while a more flexible staple very firmlyembedded in a body may bend along its bight portion with the legportions 14b of the staple being little affected at this stage in thestaple removal procedure.

After the partial engagement of the staple, as illustrated in FIGURE 2,the staple is fully, releasably, engaged by the fork 6 of the remover Aas shown in FIGURE 3. The operator of the staple remover revolves hishand rotating the staple remover around its longitudinal axis moving thefork in a lateral direction until the upper free edge 60 of the fork ofthe staple remover is revolved downwardly substantially into engagementwith the surface of the body in which the staple is embedded, as shownin FIGURE 3. It will be apparent that as the staple remover revolveslaterally so that its upper free knife point s moves along an arcuateline A-B, FIGURE 2, to the position shown in FIGURE 3 the crimping point12 engaged with the bight of the staple revolves about the lower knifepoint 8 engaging the staple with the bight of the staple being severallycrimped, as apparent in FIGURE 3. The crimping of the staple bightshortens the effective length of the bight so that as the crimping pointmoves downwardly on the bight a portion of the bight is forced towardthe direction of rotation of the fork of the staple remover partiallypulling up the leg 14a of the staple away from the direction of movementof the remover fork. As apparent, the staple remover is rotated untilits head or fork is substantially flat and the free revolving edge ofthe fork engages the surface of the body in which the staple isembedded.

At the position of the staple remover in FIGURE 3 the staple is fullycrimped, the leg of the staple away from the direction of rotation ofthe remover is partially pulled from the body holding the staple, andthe staple is tightly secured on the fork.

After the staple remover engaged with the staple is moved to theposition of FIGURE 3, the last step in the staple removal procedure iseffected to pull the staple completely free of the body in which it issecured. The hand of the operator rotates the staple remover from theposition of FIGURE 3 about its longitudinal axis with the free edges 6aand 6c of the fork of the staple remover near their junction at the line60 away from the staple engaging the surface of the body in which thestaple is secured providing a pivotal axis for the fork while the edgeof the fork at which the staple is secured to the fork is lifted throughan are defined by the line C-D, as ap parent in FIGURE 3, until bothlegs of the staple are pulled completely free of the object.

The crimping of the staple as in FIGURE 3 is an especially importantfeature in the operation of the staple remover. The crimped relationshipof the staple prevents its sliding through the notch 10 so that eventhough one of the staple legs is pulled free the staple is not spreadopen to release the remover fork before the other leg of the staple islifted from its embedded relationship in a body.

The freed or removed staple is then disengaged from its secured,crimped, relationship with the knife and crimping points of the fork byany suitable means. For example, it is manually forced forward the freeend of the fork to disengage it, or, if it is too severely crimped orbent around the fork to be manually removed, a suitable tool such as ascrew driver is employed to dislodge it from the knife and crimpingpoints.

It will now be seen that a new and improved portable tool has beendescribed and illustrated.

It will be further seen that a new and improved staple remover has beendescribed and illustrated.

It will be seen that the staple remover is useful for pulling staplesfrom bodies in which they are secured, such as wooden furnitureframeworks, cardboard boxes, and the like.

It will be further seen that the staple remover is sturdy, durable andcompact while easily and inexpensively manufactured.

It Will also be seen that the staple remover is operable by an unskilledoperator.

It will be seen that the staple remover is manipulated by one hand of anoperator.

It will be seen that the staple remover initially partially lifts astaple from a body in which it is secured and subsequently firmly graspsthe staple by crimping it so that the staple remains engaged innon-slipping relationship with the remover while being lifted free ofthe body.

It will be seen that the staple remover comprises a handle, a shaft, anda fork or head portion adapted to initially partially pry a staple fromembedded relationship in a body and to releasably firmly engage thestaple while lifting it free of the body.

It will be further seen that the fork portion of the staple removerincludes at. least one knife point and at least one laterally spacedcrimping point defining a staple receiving notch or recess between theknife and crimping points.

It will also be seen that a preferred form of the staple removerincludes a crimping point which is shorter than the adjacent knifepoint.

It will be seen that a knife and crimping point combination is formedalong a lateral edge of the body portion of the fork providing asubstantial lever arm for lifting a staple from a body in which it issecured by rotation of the fork about a line along a lateral free edgeof the fork opposite the edge supporting the knife and crimping pointsengaging the staple.

It will also be seen that one preferred form of the staple removerincludes a fork substantially wide having a pair of spaced knife andcrimping point combinations, each combination being located along alateral edge of the fork.

It will be apparent that several alternate forms of various features ofthe staple remover may be employed. For example, the longitudinalrecesses 21) and the gripping portion of the handle 2 may, if desired,be eliminated to provide a smooth cylindrical outer surface to suchgripping portion, While a pair of the knife and crimping pointcombinations is described and illustrated it will be apparent that thestaple remover is operable with only a single knife and crimping pointcombination formed on a member having sufficient Width to provide amoment arm for lifting the staple free of the body in which it issecured. The employment of a pair of laterally spaced knife and crimpingpoint combinations is preferred to provide a spare in the event that oneof the combinations is damaged in use.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, andchanges in the details of the construction illustrated maybe made bythose skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claims,without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tool comprising: Wedge means for engaging and partially lifting astaple from a body in which it is embedded; means supported in spacedrelation with said wedge means defining a staple receiving recess withsaid wedge means and cooperating with said Wedge means for crimping saidstaple upon rotation of said tool for releasably engaging said tool Withsaid staple; body means supporting said wedge means and said crimpingmeans and providing structure for a moment arm for said wedge andcrimping means whereby an edge of said body means opposite said wedgeand crimping means is engageable with said body in which said staple isembedded for lifting said staple free of said body; and means connectedwith said body means for holding and manipulating said tool.

2. A staple remover as defined in claim 1 wherein said staple engagingmeans comprises a wedge shaped knife point and said crimping meanscomprises a substantially wedge shaped crimping point.

3. A staple remover comprising: handle means; shaft means secured at oneend to said handle means; head means at the other end of said shaftmeans; knife point means formed on said head means extending in anopposite direction to said handle means; crimping point means formed onsaid head means extending in substantially the same direction as andspaced from said knife point means; said knife point means and saidcrimping point means defining a staple receiving recess therebetween;said knife point means being adapted to engage and partially lift astaple from embedded relationship in a body; and said crimping pointmeans being adapted to coact with said knife point means for crimpingsaid staple upon rotation of said staple remover about a longitudinalaxis thereof for releasably engaging said staple and lifting said staplefree from said embedded relationship.

4. A staple remover as defined in claim 3, wherein said knife pointmeans comprises a wedge shaped portion of said head member defined by alateral edge convergent toward a free pointed end and said head memberis of substantial width relative to the thickness of said member wherebya staple is lifted from a body in which it is embedded upon rotation ofsaid tool about a longitudinal axis along a free lateral edge of saidhead member engaging the surface of said body in which said staple isembedded.

5. A staple remover as defined in claim 4 wherein said knife point islonger than said crimping point.

6. A staple remover comprising: a handle; a shaft secured along one endportion to said handle; a fork member secured at one end thereof withthe other end of said shaft, said fork member, said shaft, and saidhandle being substantially aligned along a common longitudinal axis;said fork member having one dimension perpendicular to said longitudinalaxis substantially greater than another dimension perpendicular to saidfirst dimension and said longitudinal axis whereby said fork member issubstantially Wider than its thickness thereof; said fork member havingformed along a lateral edge a wedge shaped knife point for engagement ofa staple and partial removal of said staple from a body in which saidstaple is embedded, said knife point extending in alignment with saidlongitudinal axis to a pointed free end in a direction opposite thedirection of said shaft; and a crimping point formed on said fork memberhaving a pointed free end extending in substantially the same directionas said knife point and laterally spaced inwardly therefrom to provide anotch between said crimping point and said knife point.

7. A staple remover as defined in claim 6 having a knife and crimpingpoint combination along each lateral edge of said fork member andwherein the lateral edge surfaces of said knife points are convergenttoward each other toward the free ends of said knife points.

8. A staple remover as defined in claim 7 wherein each of said crimpingpoints is shorter than each of said knife points.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 910,173 1/1909Cochran 25428 1,286,488 12/ 1918 Amberg. 1,402,470 1/1922 Bauer.1,565,415 12/1925 Cantin 25428 2,461,639 2/1949 Grigalunas 7-17 X2,711,109 6/1955 Gillstrom 1-3 FOREIGN PATENTS 341,263 9/ 1921 Germany.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MILTON S. MEHR, Examiner.

1. A TOOL COMPRISING: WEDGE MEANS FOR ENGAGING AND PARTIALLY LIFTING ASTAPLE FROM A BODY IN WHICH IT IS EMBEDDED; MEANS SUPPORTED IN SPACEDRELATION WITH SAID WEDGE MEANS DEFINING A STAPLE RECEIVING RECESS WITHSAID WEDGE MEANS AND COOPERATING WITH SAID WEDGE MEANS FOR CRIMPING SAIDSTAPLE UPON ROTATION OF SAID TOOL FOR RELEASABLY ENGAGING SAID TOOL WITHSAID STAPLE; BODY MEANS SUPPORTING SAID WEDGE MEANS AND SAID CRIMPINGMEANS AND PROVIDING STRUCTURE FOR A MOMENT ARM FOR SAID WEDGE ANDCRIMPING MEANS WHEREBY AN EDGE OF SAID BODY MEANS OPPOSITE SAID WEDGEAND CRIMPING MEANS IS ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID BODY IN WHICH SAID STAPLE ISEMBEDDED FOR LIFTING SAID STAPLE FREE OF SAID BODY; AND MEANS CONNECTEDWITH SAID BODY MEANS FOR HOLDING AND MANIPULATING SAID TOOL.